tsunamis

The debris field from an October 2015 landslide extends over the toe of the Tyndall Glacier and in to the Taan Fjord in spring 2016. Credit: Chris Larson University of Alaska Fairbanks researchers have devised a way to remotely detect large landslides within minutes of occurrence and to quickly determine whether they are close to open water and present a tsunami hazard. …

Self-deploying sea barriers offer coastal towns some protection from the destructive forces of tsunamis – but one problem can arise when power goes out in a disaster scenario. Hence this Japanese proposal for a wall that generates its own power.There are only around two tsunamis a year worldwide that cause death or damage, according to the US Tsunami Warning System. Larger ones capable of causing death or damage more than 1,000 km (620 miles) from their point of origin happen at a rate around two per decade. But they're…

Measurement principle and experimental setup. (a) Schematics of the interferometric phase measurement for PNC. (b) Geometry of the fiber-optic cable connecting METAS in Bern to the University of Basel. Credit: Scientific Reports (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-41161-x Geophysicists at ETH Zurich have shown that every single wave of a magnitude 3.9 earthquake registers in the noise suppression system of fiber-optic networks.…

(a) Map of the Cascadia subduction zone offshore Oregon with seismic line 15 from cruise RR1718 that was used in this study. Red stars represent locations of Site 174 from DSDP Leg 18 (Shipboard Scientific Party, 1973) and Site 892 from ODP Leg 146 (Shipboard Scientific Party, 1994). Water depths here range from approximately 3,000 (cool colors) to 0-m at the coastline. Bathymetry created using the Global Multi-Resolution Topography (GMRT) database from…

Researchers from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel and various other institutions have analyzed the aftermath of the Minoan eruption of Santorini, discovering that the destructive tsunami 3,600 years ago was caused by a combination of pyroclastic flows and the destabilization of the volcano’s flanks. The study, utilizing seismic data and bathymetry of the sea floor, emphasizes the importance of understanding flank instabilities in assessing tsunami hazards at active volcanoes.The imprints left on the…

Seaside, Oregon (pictured) is the focus of study for community resilience in the crosshairs of hazardous earthquakes and tsunamis. Environmental data that included buildings, ground movement, and demographics were collected in work recognized with a 2023 DesignSafe Dataset Award. Credit: M.O. Stevens A data set on seismic and tsunami hazards of a coastal Oregon town has received a 2023 DesignSafe data set award, given in…

Waves churn in Onomea Bay, Hawaii, where the sea rose by more than 30 feet (9 meters) during the deadly tsunami of April 1, 1946. Emerging technology could help detect these natural hazards via acoustic and gravity ripples they hurl towards space. Credit: M. Younger New hazard-monitoring technology uses GPS signals to go wave-hunting in the Pacific Ring of Fire. GUARDIAN's long-term objective is to augment early warning…

An international team of scientists has found the cause of giant underwater landslides in Antarctica, which may have triggered far-reaching tsunamis. The researchers identified layers of weak, biologically-rich sediments under the seafloor which, due to their susceptibility to earthquakes and other seismic activity, were behind these landslides. These layers were formed in warmer times, when Antarctica’s temperatures were up to 3°C higher, sea levels were higher, and ice sheets smaller.Scientists have identified weak,…

Oceanic fabric, margin architecture and seismicity associated with the 1995 megathrust earthquake. a Regional map of the Rivera subduction zone depicting the study area (red box), and the location of the seismic line TS02 (this study) and TS06b. Blue arrows are convergence vectors in cm yr−1. NW-SE seamounts chains are marked in the figure with black arrows. The Rivera Fracture Zone (FZ) sets the boundary between the Rivera plate, and the Pacific and…

Credit: Google Maps We live on an active planet, one whose surface is constantly in motion, although imperceptibly to us most of the time. Until an earthquake occurs. On January 9, just such an event happened in the seas north of the Indonesian Archipelago, where a strong (magnitude 7.6 on the Richter scale) earthquake shook the…